Dancing in Harmony: JV dancers step into the color guard role, forming new bonds with marching band

The sun has hardly risen before the sound of trumpets, flutes and drums emanate from the football field.

Colorful pink and blue flags, held in the air by the Lancer Dancer Guards, fly around in the air in swift, choreographed movements just inches away from the heads of the surrounding marching band members.

Although it’s only 7 a.m. on a school morning, every member on both teams concentrates on their own note, step and position on the field.

“Honestly, 7 a.m. practices, you would think they’d be the most horrible thing ever, but they’re so great,” junior Lancer Dancer Guard Caroline Hoffman said. “Getting up early for the day wakes me up, and all the band kids are so sweet it’s almost better spending my mornings with them than people who have bad, negative attitudes.”

After the dance team coach, Alexis ‘Bubba’ Close, decided to switch the varsity team from their color guard role to focus on competition preparation, the JV dancers spent the last few weeks of summer and the school year learning to take on the role.

Now, the JV Lancer dancers are also known as the Varsity Lancer Dancer Color Guard during the marching season and practice alongside the SM East Band every Monday, Wednesday and Friday morning, along with an afternoon practice on Thursday after school.

“Having an entire team of people who [have] never picked up a flag before tryouts in May of last year, we knew it was going to be more challenging,” Bubba said. “Once they got over the intimidation of the newness, [they] really embraced it.”

In past years, the previous varsity dancers only practiced once a week after school on Thursdays to learn the choreography and memorize specific spots each girl had to move around the field.

Now, having more time for the marching band and the dancers to collaborate has allowed for relationships and comradeship to grow between the two, which made practices and competitions more familiar for both, according to band teacher Alex Toepfer.

“Last year, the varsity girls only practiced with [band] once a week, so it was just harder to get that team dynamic down,” Toepfer said. “The more time you spend with people and the more relationships you have, the more you bond together, and so I think that’s been a big thing.”

Even with frequent practices, having all the dancers and the marching band on the field at the same time created challenges, whether it was learning pace or specific technique, according to Head Drum Major Shubra Durgavathi.

“Since every single person on our flag team this year is brand new, it’s been a bit of a learning curve with figuring out how far the flag goes and not hitting people,” Durgavathi said. “We had a performance at a football game where a flag did accidentally hit one of our trumpet soloists, which he recovered.”

Whether it’s a wet field during their early morning practices or late nights reviewing flag choreography, the JV dancers have had to learn to adjust to the long hours they spend working alongside the band.

However, the challenges have given the team a sense of pride in their work and newfound respect for the marching band, according to junior Lancer Dancer Guard Captain Anne Bowser.

“I remember at a band competition, there was a big group of kids playing poker, and I joined them, and they were so inclusive and nice to talk to,” Bowser said. “I feel like people often stereotype dance team and band to be different groups of people, but I had so much fun connecting with everyone.”

With marching season coming to an end, both the band team and the Lancer Dancer Guards have grown to love the new dynamics of working together through the season.

“I am so impressed with the band and the amount of commitment they put into it,” Bowser said. “We have been able to work so well together, and I can honestly say that I feel proud of what our teams have done.”